Several types of integrated circuits have been developed that have modules or blocks of transistors that are partly fixed and partly programmable and/or customizable. For example, a base platform for an integrated circuit can include basic sets of memories of a predetermined type.
If the design created by the IC designer contains user-defined memories, these memories are mapped into one or more of the pre-defined memory locations on the base platform. However, due to the variety of customer designs and the limited resources of a particular base platform or set of platforms, the process of selecting a suitable platform and mapping user-defined memories to the platform can be complex.
Processes and apparatus are therefore desired for assisting designers in mapping memory to integrated circuit layout patterns.